## Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1) First book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl LitRPG series by [[Matt Dinniman]]. ### Summary When mysterious obelisks appear on Earth and demolish every building, Carl — an unemployed former Coast Guard — is one of the only survivors because he stepped outside in nothing but boxers and Crocs to chase down Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's prize-winning Persian show cat. The aliens responsible turn the planet into the surface of a televised dungeon, and the surviving humans are forced into it as Crawlers in a brutal LitRPG game show broadcast across the galaxy. Carl and Donut — now sapient and able to talk thanks to her chosen class — descend through the dungeon's first floor together, learning the System's stats, classes, loot, and sponsor mechanics while trying to stay alive. The book establishes the series' signature tone: gallows humor, corporate-satire AI announcers, grotesque monster design, and an undercurrent of grief for a destroyed Earth. ### Series - Next: [[Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman|Book 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario]]